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Meghan
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Me: You never answered my question.
Chase: It’s not my story to tell. Give him some time. His story will come around.
Chase: Oh! Mind if we stop by the junkyard before we head out?
Me: That’s fine. Missing your baby? ;D
Chase: I forgot to take my swim trunks out last summer. Can’t go to the beach without trucks.
The junkyard was on the way to Savannah. Stopping wouldn’t be a problem at all. Plus, it insured my time with Chase would be topless. We’ll, he would be topless and I’d be wishing I was, too.
Just friends.
I’m helping him through a difficult time in his life.
This isn’t a romantic getaway.
But... I’m not opposed to a repeat of last week in training, and I had the swimsuit to prove it. If that top and those bottoms didn’t make him want to take me for a walk on the wild side, nothing would.
Rosie helped me decide the color. I wanted black, but she insisted red was more my color. What can I say, she knew fashion and I detested it.
The morning sun shined bright and early, so I ditched the fabric roof at the gas station. The town’s buzz steadily grew over the last few days. New students moved in, others moved out. Most of us just wanted a few hours away.
I Pulled my hair into a high ponytail and checked myself in the mirror at the light. My roots were growing out. It was time to color again. I told Rosie I wanted to do a lighter brown to slowly fade back to my natural color. She hugged me so tight I couldn’t breathe when I told her I wanted to look like the girl standing next to my dad in all of my photos.
Chase waited outside his building. My insides did a happy dance, because I didn’t have to see Adam again.
“Mind if I plug in my phone? I have a new Spotify playlist you’re going to love.” Chase asked as soon as he climbed in.
“Go for it,” I said, expecting all the songs to be top country hints. Green Day’s Holiday surprised me more than a little.
He cranked up the volume. We sang the words at the top of our lungs.
“It doesn’t get much better than this.” He locked his gaze on mine at a stop sign. The car behind me honked when I didn’t make a move.
“We should get some lunch on the way.” I drove into the junkyard’s parking lot.
“I could go for ice cream.” He rushed before we climbed out.
Ice cream and Chase went together like the mouse and happily ever after. In my experience, ice cream with Chase made the endings extra magical.
I put a dollop of whipped cream on my pointer finger and spread it on his nose.
“You’re gonna pay for that.” He grabbed a bottle of chocolate sauce.
“Oh, no.” I ran around his kitchen counter.
He followed me, only faster. Quickly placing a palm on the counter on each side of me, boxing me in. I reached up and, with a flick of my tongue, licked the whipped cream away.
His breathing deepened. The rise and fall of my chest matched his.
He looked from me to the bottle of chocolate.
“Don’t move.” He whispered.
Wasn’t going to.
Chase stuck his head back in the jeep. “Are you coming?”
Oh, yea.
I picked my jaw off the ground and hopped out. An attendant led us to Chase’s truck. The truck bed was scrunched almost all the way to the cab. The scent of gasoline made me think the accident may have punctured the gas tank. The back windshield was busted and the air bags hung over the dash.
Chase opened the front door and pulled his swimsuit from behind the row of seats.
“Do you need anything else while we’re here?” I asked, looking around from the passenger side. I didn’t see much, other than an old ball cap.
“Could you grab my insurance and registration from the glove box? I need it to finish up my claim and hopefully get a new truck soon.” Chase rummaged around behind the seat. There must have been some tools back there. Metal rolls clinked together as he shuffled everything around.
“Sure.” I opened the storage compartment. I reached in and grabbed the papers on top. I took a closer look and my heart sunk.
What the fuck?
Don’t freak out. It’s not a big deal. You’re just friends.
I guess I had my hopes up. I thought that after last week, we might be more. That he might want more with me. For a moment I imagined he was happier when we were together.
It’s just a note with some numbers on it. That’s not a reason to freak out. Not yet. Maybe it’s not his. Maybe that’s why Adam is so upset. He met a girl, and he can’t find her number because he left it in Chase’s truck. Why would Adam ride with Chase? He drives a GTO with two toned leather seats and a v6 engine. He wouldn’t want to be caught dead in this dusty thing.
Ask him about it?
No. That would imply that one, I snooped, and two, I wanted to be more than friends.
Isn’t that what he wants?
“Ready?” Chase asked.
No. Yes. I don’t fucking know. I walked past him and didn’t stop ‘til I made it to my keep.
“You okay? You seem different since we stopped.” He pushed a few strands of hair behind my ear. I leaned into his touch. The slightest brush of Chase left me calmer than before.
Am I okay? No. Do I want him to know that? Double no.
“I think I’m getting hangry. Zaxby’s okay?”
We decided to grab our crispy chicken tenders to go, so we could beat the rush crowd onto Tybee. Traffic wasn’t terrible, but it would be a nightmare at night. The smell of my favorite chicken made it hard to concentrate. The note with those stupid digits added the straw that broke my back.
“Are you seeing anyone?” The words sputtered before I chickened out.
“I see you.” He rubbed his thumb on my cheek.
“You’re moving your arm around a lot better. You still need to be careful, though.” I changed the topic.
“Are you seeing anyone?” Fuck. He didn’t let me escape humiliation.
Think fast.
“Are you kidding? Without my contacts I’m blind as a bat.” I laughed nervously.
“It’s nice to see your eyes are changing back to the soft green I know and love.” He put his arm back in his sling. He shouldn’t have taken it out.
Rewind. Love? Did he say love?
“Ya know, funny story. Once you wear colored contacts, it permanently changes the color of your eyes. Crazy, right? These are actually green contacts. I’m hoping they help get me closer to the color my parents gave me.” I focused on the road. I couldn’t look at him.
***
We found a spot beside the pier, unpacked our beach chairs and devoured our Zax Snacks. I mean, I practically inhaled the food.
“Chase! What are you doing here?” A woman I vaguely remembered walked up to us.
“Aunt Kimberly!” He jumped out of his chair to hug her. “Meghan, this is my Aunt Kimberly.”
“Oh! We’ve met! You rescued me with a macchiato with two extra shots of espresso. I would not have survived the afternoon at the science center without that beverage!” She hugged my neck as hard as she squeezed Chase.
I smiled. Kimberly must have been his aunt on his mom’s side. He’d never met his dad, and the woman resembled Sheila quite a bit.
“She and her family travel full time in an RV. They just bought a condo here on the island so they have a house to go home to for the holidays.” Chase picked up the little boy. The kid fit perfectly in his hands. It seemed as natural to him as catching a football. I wouldn’t know what to do with an offspring. Much less one that looked like Chase, that baby would get away with everything.
“Where are you guys staying tonight? We could meet for dinner.” The baby in her arms cried.
“We’re just here for the day.” Chase put the toddler down and took the baby from Kimberly’s hands. The lil’ nugget stopped crying the second Chase brought it to his chest.
I stared from Chase to Kimberly, to the baby, to the toddler running towards the open ocean. “Should I go snag him?”
“Who?” Kimberly looked over her shoulder and took off running.
“You left your baby,” I wanted to shout.
Chase snuggled into the baby’s hair. “New babies smell good.”
Good?
Get a grip ovaries, that’s not a level of pain you want. You saw the little terror rushing to commit suicide by drowning.
No, thank you.
Kimberly made her way back up the beach—winded and out of breath. “You guys should stay at the condo. We’re moving the camper to Charleston as soon as we get home. Wanted to see the beach one more time before we hit the road.”
“That’s too generous.” Chase delicately placed the baby back in Kimberly’s arms.
“I insist. You know the code to get in. Help yourself to whatever. Visit the pool. Sit in the hot tub. Go be young and wild and free.” The toddler started crying.
Just watching this woman with these kids was enough birth control to last forever.
Birth control.
Fuck!
Hope Chase picked up condoms, because I forgot.
“You can pay me back with free babysitting.” The woman balanced the baby on one shoulder and picked up the toddler with the other.
“Deal. Meghan can help, too,” Chase replied.
Not in this lifetime.
